Bayer Upbeat as Profit Rises

By

Friedrich Geiger

Updated April 26, 2012 5:02 a.m. ET

FRANKFURT—German pharmaceutical and chemical company Bayer AG Thursday said it expects its health-care and crop businesses to continue to drive growth, after it recorded a forecast-beating rise in first-quarter sales.

The company confirmed it is on track to increase adjusted sales and earnings this year, and said it is "increasingly...